Can body



Oct. 21, 1941-. R. c; TAYLOR 2,259,498

' CAN BODY Filed Oct. 14, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l I v flag/a -1NVEN'1/O M I v .B a UM 6% I l f I MORNEYS.

Oct. 21, 1941.

R. c. TAYLOR 2,259,498

CAN BODY Filed Oct. 14, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet "IIIII INVENT%- WZ ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE a can nomr Russell 0. Taylor, Greenwich, Conn., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 14,1931, Serial No. 169,027

3 Claims.

treated. This invention not only has the full holding strength of the Groenke side seam just referred to but has in addition overlapped soldered sections which are distributed in spaced relation along the side seam.

An object of the invention is the provision of a can body capable of withstanding high internal pressures having a reenforced side seam made up of a plurality of sections or zones of different thicknesses of metal and having alternate interlocking hooks and overlaps which are separated by reentrant notches which permit the escape of air or gases when the side seam is soldered,

tion with a longitudinally extending hook formed as another part of the side seam.

Numerous other obj cts and advantages oi the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a canbody embodying the present invention the body being shown after the side seam has been completed, the parts closed and hermetically sealed together; i

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a tubular shaped partially formed can body showing one stage in the creation of the side seam;

Fig. 3 is a face view of a 'bady blank properly cut to provide for the can body shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a further step in the formation of the side seam;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are enlarged transverse sec- 'tional details taken at different positions along the side seam being substantially sections across the seam at the lines -5, 6-6 and 1-1 in Fig.

1; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section partially broken away of a portion of the side seam as viewed along the broken sectional line 8-8 in Fi 1.

, As illustrated in the drawings and particularly in Fig. 3 a formed and notched cam body blank II is first provided. One of. the free edges of the body blank is notched to form end notches l2 there being illustrated two such endnotches,

one each adjacent the two ends of the blank.

This provides an end lap region 13 at each corner of the blank and a longitudinal central part l4 extending along the edge and inbetween the end notches.

On the opposite side edge of the blank similar end notches l5 are cut one adjacent each corner of the blank. At each of these positions the corner is clipped off along an angular line i6 leaving an angular end lap region H at each end of the blank. A series of pairs of reentrant notches l8 are also cut in the blank being spaced apart along the edge, each pair of notches defining a lug i9 therebetween. This notching of the blank edge produces end edge sections 2i between each end notch l5 and the single notch l8 of the pair adjacent. It also isolates two central edge sections 22 which come between spaced reentrant notches l8 intermediate the adjacent lugs IS.

The blank is rolled or otherwise bent into cylindrical shape as illustrated in Fig. 2 and the longitudinal blank edge It is bent back to provide a single continuous hook 25. In a similar manner the blank edges 2| on the opposite side 01' the blank are bent in to provide a pair of hooked-in sections 26 and'the intermediate edge sections 22 are bent in the same manner to pro-'- vide a pair of turned-in hooked sections 21. This produces the structure illustrated in Fig. 2. The open edges of the formed blank are then united, the longitudinal or single continuous hook 25 being engaged with the turned-in hook sections 26 and the turned-in hook sections 2'! as illustrated in Fig. 4. The angular or cut-away lap portions i'l come just outside of the end lap sections l3 and the lugs l9 project over the. outside wall of the can body. A bumpedside seam is then formed by pressing together the interlocked parts, this action bringing the angular end lap sections ll into metal to metal contact with the end lap sections l3 and the lugs 19 are also pressed into close engagement with the body wall adjacent the hook 25.

In this bumping or pressing of the seam parts the metal along the edge directly under the extended lugs I9 is pressed outwardly to fill in the space as illustrated at 29 in Fig. 8. At the same time each lug I9 is .pressed down into the seam, this action forming apocket or hollow 3|.

The bending of the edges of the blank, the interlocking of the hook parts and the pressing together of the seam sections as just described are all done automatically during the manufacture of the can by the usual body maker or other contact and then the solder 32 flows into and tightly bonds these parts together.

Fig. 6 more clearly illustrates how the lug I9 is pressed into the body wall to provide the pocket 3| which is filled with solder. At this point the section of the longitudinal hook 25 which is directly under the lug i9 is pressed tight against the other part of the hook or flattened as indicated at 33, this hook zone for a width equal to the lug i9 not being inter-hooked with :the other parts of the seam. Solder 32 at this position not only fills in the pocket 3! but also fiows' between and binds together the flattened sections of the hook 25 and also binds it with the body wall at the base of the lug IS. The resulting exterior wall of the can is in this manner made flush.

In Fig. 7 there is illustrated the full hooked position of the hook 25 where it inter-engages with one of its three hooks 21, this interlocking being designated by the numeral 34. Here again solder closely binds the parts together. In Figs. to 8, inclusive, which are drawn to an enlarged scale it has been necessary to greatly exaggerate the thickness oi. the body wall and also the thickness of the solder.

kept in mind when viewing these figures. In

This should be The side seam I reality there is m'etal to metal contact in the lapped and hooked sections and the film of solder therebetween is indeed very thin.

vThis construction and the use of different types of sections of interlocked and overlapped edges together with the complete venting afforded by the reentrant notches l8, reenforce the side seam and prevents any pulling away or unrolling of the intermediate seam parts. The resulting can body is much stronger than a can body not so reenforced and experiment has shown that such a can body may be embodied in a can suitable for packaging beer where great internal pressures are often developed.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the scribed being merely a preferred embodiment. thereof.

I claim:

1. A reenforced can body capable of resisting high internal pressures, said can body being formed from a. metal blank having the major part of one marginal edge bent into an inner longitudinally disposed upwardly and outwardly extended hook and having its opposite marginal edge formed, with outer downwardly and inwardly extending interlocking hooks and alternate relatively narrow overlapping portions separated by open substantially V-shaped reentrant notches, said interlocking hooks being inter-engaged with the longitudinally extended hook of the opposite marginal edge in the side seam, said overlapping portions engaging the outer surface of the body adjacent the seam and being pressed into such surfaceso as to form a flush exterior for "the can body, all engaged parts of said seam being soldered together in a hermetic joint, said open reentrant notches pernate relatively narrow overlaps separated by open V-shaped reentrant notches to provide vent spaces in between said interlocking hooks, said interlocking hooks being inter-engaged with the longitudinally extended hook of the opposite marginal edge in a side seam, said overlaps engaging the outer surface of the body and being pressed infa distance equal to one thickness of the metal toprovid a flush body exterior, "the body wall portions of the seam adjacent said pressed in part on the interior being pressed together and reducing the thickness of the seam at each overlapped lug to reenforce the side seam and to provide a metal to metal contact throughout, permitting solder to penetrate all thicknesses of the metal of said seam when it is bumped and soldered. said vent spaces formed by said reentrant notches permitting free escape of air and gases when said side seam is soldered.

3. A sheet metal can comprising a body having the edge portions thereof Joined by a solder bonded side seam including lap portions at the ends of the side seam, an, inner hook extending all the way from. the inner lap section at one end of the seam to the inner lap section at the other end of the seam, a series of spaced outer hooks disposed between the outer lap portions at the ends of the side seam and adapted to en age said inner hook, the metal between said spaced hooks being extended laterally of the side seam so as to lap the outer'face of the body wall, said extended portions being inset into the body wall so as to be substantially flush therewith. and a solder bond extending throughout the limits of the side seam and the limits of the extended portions for uniting the same and for covering the edges of the lap sections so that no raw edge of metal is exposed either on the inside of the can body or the outside thereof.

RUSSELL C. TAYLOR. 

